Forever in Memory
by The Genius Mage
Summary: How Ven meets Isa and Lea in Birth by Sleep. "Maybe I shoulda chosen you as my friend instead."


_~*Forever in Memory*~ _

_Bonds of flame made from links of moon…_

* * *

Radiant Garden was beautiful, he knew. The boy, however, just couldn't seem to find it within him to smile and enjoy the warm sunshine. Fountains made gurgling noises near him, but they sounded far away. Birds sung just over his head, but their sweet music didn't quite reach his ears.

For you see, Ventus was feeling sorry for himself and he was slumped against one of the gray walls in Radiant Garden, down in a sort of plaza, watching the people go by, grateful that they were just leaving him alone.

So focused was he on his own shoes, blue eyes scrunched up in melancholy thoughts, that he didn't notice someone near him until that person spoke.

With the customary scraping sound of wood against rock, the wooden Keyblade was picked up and brandished curiously. A boy with flaming red hair clad in similar fiery colors—complete with a checkered scarf—said, "Hey, is this yours?"

A primly dressed male around his companion's age, with a crescent moon on his shirt and azure hair, turned and remarked, "Lea, we don't have much time."

Lea waved it off, walking towards the caustic Ven instead. "I know Isa; I'll be with you in a sec." Cheerfully ignoring Isa's eye roll, he twirled the false weapon until he was holding its dull blade. "You playing with this? What a baby," he scoffed, offering the handle to the blonde-haired Keybearer.

Ven looked up and focused his eyes on the item, tearing himself from nightmarish daydreams of what could possibly be happening to his missing friends. He made a noncommittal exhaling sound, turning away a little.

Shrugging, Lea dropped the Keyblade and declared, "_I've_ got these!" He pulled two disc-shaped black items, emblazoned with some kind of fire-like cartoonish design, from seemingly nowhere and proceeded to twirl them expertly on the very tips of his fingers. "Ta dah! Cool, huh?"

Gaze hardening, Ven checked to make sure that this boy wasn't mocking him for real. He was _so_ not in the mood for any local ruffian deciding to mess with him. However, the longer he studied Lea's turquoise eyes—okay it wasn't quite turquoise, there was more emerald to it than sapphire—the more he began to realize that this kid was just joking around.

_Just…go away. I don't feel like talking right now._

Resting his hands on his knees, Ventus smirked slightly, positioning himself so that his posture practically screamed _leave me alone_. "That's pretty lame too."

Utterly unperturbed, Lea leaned forward a little and fixed his sights on the dejected Keyblader. "I've got a name, ya know? It's Lea." He tapped the side of his head. "Got it memorized?" Straightening, he asked curiously, "What's your name?"

The reply was a heartbeat late in coming. "Ventus." He set his gaze on the stream tumbling out of the opposite wall, unable to stop himself from thinking that Aqua would have liked the waterfall that it created.

"Alright Ventus! Time for a one-on-one!" Lea declared with a shark-toothed grin.

His surprise brought some life back to him. "Huh? Why in the world—"

The flaming-headed boy pointed one of his discs at him. "What? You chicken?" He challenged. Lea sprang back a stunning distance to be someone without magic or a Keyblade, his eyes burning like colored coals. "Come on, let's do this!"

Ventus stared at him unenthusiastically. Blinking, he lowered his head again.

_Guess I should be grateful. This kid is trying to cheer me up in his own way, but Isa—_the aforementioned boy was watching impassively, his face unreadable—_Seems to be getting impatient. Alright then! I'll make short work of this guy._

He smiled a little and got to his feet, grabbing the wooden Keyblade from its position on the stormy tiles.

_I better not use my real one; I don't want to have Lea here get hurt._

"Oh! So you're gonna do it," his impromptu adversary didn't sound astonished.

Twisting his Keyblade, which despite being wooden felt somehow heavier than _Fresh Breeze_, Ven held its handle with his signature reverse-grip, grinning, a taunt in his words. "You better not cry."

Isa closed his eyes and _harrumphed_, as if their childish actions were both boring him to death and stupid enough to make him laugh.

Lea just grunted dismissively.

_This fight is going to be short!_

Ven kicked off, putting on a burst of speed and meeting Lea's own charge before they even got to the halfway point. He ducked to avoid one disc's swing, and with a backwards slice he removed one of Lea's weapons from his fingers. He felt something hit his side but it didn't really bother him, and thus he brought the flat of his Keyblade to Lea's chest and slammed him backwards, sending the flaming-haired boy skidding across the tiles. His discs clattered to a halt beside him.

Ventus wasn't even breathing hard.

_Hey, I've gotten formal training. This kid hasn't._

Lea gasped for air, grinning sheepishly, eyes darting everywhere. "Well, I'll…uh…let you off for now."

Shock flitted across the Keyblader's face. Was that really it? "Huh?" Straightening, he smiled, his gaze again bright. "Fine."

Isa had retreated from the plaza during their short duel, and now he returned, the corners of his lips turned up just a little. "No matter how you look at it, it looks like you're the only one that got beat. What were you trying to prove?" He glanced at Lea.

Ven went to stand in front of Lea, still resting on the ground.

"Huh? You're supposed to be on my side at times like these!" Lea crossed his arms and pouted. "Like, 'you must've not been feeling well today' or, 'you went too easy on him' Ya know? Great friend _you_ are."

Isa smiled for the first time, and Ven thought it completely transformed his serious features. "Sorry, I'm bad at lying."

Lea glared at him before falling onto his back. "Our friendship's so _sad_." He lifted his head slightly to say to Ventus, "Maybe I shoulda chosen you as my friend instead." He gave that same shark-toothed grin.

Ven couldn't help it—he found these two really amusing. A chuckle escaped him before turning into full-fledged laughter, and it wasn't long before the other two joined in.

Isa sobered up the fastest, however. "Lea. We should get going." He turned and started to leave the plaza without a backwards look.

"Yeah," agreed Lea, standing and facing Ven.

"You're leaving?" The blonde asked, though he already knew the answer. He felt oddly disappointed.

"I feel like we'll meet again someday," Lea said over his shoulder as he prepared to go. "We're friends now, after all." He smiled, eyes gleaming. "Got it memorized?"

Ven nodded, mirroring his new ally's expression. "Got it, Lea."

Lea walked towards Isa, who was waiting at the base of the far hill on the opposite end of the square. "Try keeping the stray dogs you pick up to a minimum?" The blue-haired boy stated coolly.

Lea's words acquired an edge. "I want to be part of lots of people's memories. If I do that, I can live forever."

_I can hear you still,_ Ven thought, fighting to keep himself from attacking Isa.

"Well, for me, you may be a really small part but you'll never disappear," promised the redhead's friend.

Lea closed his eyes and shook his head. "That makes me _so_ happy." He grinned up at Isa on the slope and naturally his icy companion's remark was weary.

"You're such a hassle."

They stared up at the castle looming over the whole of Radiant Garden. "Let's go?" Isa inquired.

Lea's face became alight with a fierce interest, the promise of adventure sparking energy into him.

"Seems like you're ready."

"Yeah," the redhead replied, nodding.

Ven waited until they were long gone before leaving himself. He walked to the center of the plaza, already immersed again in his own thoughts, thinking of past events and things that had yet to happen.

"Friends, huh?" He smiled slightly. "I wonder if I'll find them."

It seems Lea had somehow left him a Keychain. Ventus's fingers closed around it.

_Rascal Flame, huh? I can see why any Keychain of his would be called that._

* * *

_Author's Note: Here's the scene in Birth by Sleep of Ven meeting Isa and Lea. Thanks to a certain YouTuber for her English subtitles, the same one that made all of these BBS scene re-writes of mine possible. Written up because it was requested._


End file.
